South Auckland entrepreneur Motekiai Tangi has turned a deeply personal mission into a growing health-tech success story with his company, Fitness Sci-Tec. The AI-powered platform helps prevent and manage type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions by combining clinical science, fitness, and technology in one connected system. Already working with Health New Zealand, Pacific Health Group, and local GPs, the business is preparing to expand internationally, with India as a key target market due to its high diabetes burden.
Tangi’s mission is shaped by his own lived experience. As a teenager weighing 200 kilos and pre-diabetic, he witnessed his mother suffer multiple heart attacks. This inspired him to focus on prevention and lifestyle change. After returning to education and graduating with a degree in sports and exercise science, he trained in Pacific nutrition and invested his own savings to build Fitness Sci-Tec.
The company now operates through a clinical and software development service in Manukau, a gym in Botany to support patients transitioning from GP care, and a mobile clinic that brings services directly into communities. Its AI platform tracks health indicators such as HbA1c, blood lipids, body composition, and mental wellbeing, giving patients and clinicians real-time insights to guide healthier decisions.
Initially focused on Pacific families, Fitness Sci-Tec has expanded to serve wider communities, addressing inequities in diabetes care. With over 300,000 New Zealanders affected by diabetes, and Māori, Pacific, and Indian populations disproportionately impacted, Tangi’s culturally responsive model emphasizes prevention and early intervention.
Support from Auckland Council’s innovation hub GridAKL and the Startup Aotearoa mentoring program has helped the business scale and explore global opportunities. Local leaders highlight Fitness Sci-Tec as an example of Auckland’s innovation ecosystem, combining practical impact with strong commercial potential.
Looking ahead, Tangi envisions building a model that creates lasting change, starting in South Auckland and extending to India and beyond. His goal is to help people live longer, healthier lives by combining science, technology, and culturally relevant care into a system that can scale globally.
